William J. Albert, president of the Lehigh County Agricultural Society (LCAS), the nonprofit owner and operator of the Allentown Fairgrounds and The Great Allentown Fair, who died Sept. 24 in Lehigh Valley Hospital, is being remembered as "the heart of the fair."

Albert was elected LCAS president by its members every year since 2008. LCAS spokesperson Bonnie Brosious said that LCAS members mourn the loss of a leader who was recognized for relentlessly promoting the organization's 162-year-old mission to support agriculture.

"Bill coined and personified his passionate reference to our annual agricultural showcase as 'the heart of the fair.' He took every opportunity to remind fairgoers, 'If you come to the fair and do not visit Agri-Land at the west end of the grounds, you missed the fair,'" Brosious said.

LCAS Executive Committee Chairman-CEO Raymond Hoffman said, "The society has lost its biggest cheerleader and I have lost a great friend.

"Bill always had a smile on his face and enjoyed being around people and telling them stories about his many experiences at the fair. The executive committee and board of directors will greatly miss his fine leadership."

Albert, a community stalwart throughout his lifetime, became involved in the fair during the 1960s as a partner in Rileigh's, Inc., responsible for decorating the exhibit areas of the fair.

He was elected to the society's executive committee in 1987 and was appointed its liaison to the competitive exhibit operation of the fair. He championed the development of entry categories that would engage more participation and provide for innovative and interesting displays and competitions.

He and his predecessor as president, the late William Greenawald, co-chaired the committee to celebrate the society and fair's 150th anniversary in 2002.

With his decorating talent and love of history, Albert produced a retrospective walk-through exhibit that took thousands of fairgoers through the decades and centuries of The Great Allentown Fair. Parts of the exhibit remain displayed in the foyer of Agri-Plex's William T. Harris Agricultural Hall.

Albert worked closely with Lehigh and Berks counties 4-H, Agriculture Extension Services, Agriculture Education and FFA. During the fair's annual awards night, he relished handing out agricultural scholarships and awards to youth and deserving contributors to local agriculture.

He was surprised last year as the recipient of the Lehigh County Farm Bureau's Distinguished Service to Agriculture award and in 2012 as the selected Allentown Fair winner of Pennsylvania's Outstanding Fair Ambassador distinction.

Albert was instrumental in resurrecting the Allentown Fair's queen contest in 2009, annually selecting a young woman to extend agricultural education and fair promotion throughout the community year-round.

As a past president of AAA Lehigh Valley, he enlisted the travel organization's support in the development of the fair's "passport to the world of agriculture" program that offers fairgoers incentives and passport stamps as they use booklets to guide their visit to the fair's agricultural attractions.

A funeral mass for Albert was celebrated Oct. 4 in St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Church, North Catasauqua, following by a reception at the Catasauqua American Legion Post 215, Catasauqua.